The Finnish heavy metal band Sentenced released its debut album, Shadows of
the Past, in the early '90s on a small French label. They started off as a generic
death metal
band but evolved into a more melodic heavy metal band with each
album. Their early style has been labeled the "Gothenberg Sound".

After releasing one brutal
death metal album, that generally was praised by most fans, Sentenced totally
changed their style. While many death metal fans complain, I applaud. "Amok"
is a transition album that still has some elements of death metal, but for the
most part is just a killer mixture of rock and power metal. Imagine a Euro-death
band playing Rush and Queensryche material with a singer that can manage to be be both brutal and melodic. On
top of this, "Amok" features crisp, crunchy production, killer songwriting,
and well-thought-out Scandanavian themed lyrics. "Amok" is just one
darn fine heavy metal album.

I know many Sentenced fans
prefer the band's early death metal years, but I prefer these more melodic,
progressive metal CDs with new vocalist Ville Laihala. "Down" is just a fantastic
album. From the "Noose" to the upbeat "I'll Throw the First Rock " to the awesome
"Bleed" this one is solid from beginning to end. Oddly enough there are not
a whole lot of guitar solos, but the music doesn't seem empty without them.
Where there are guitar solos they are more concentrated on melody than on anything
shredding. (thanks for the trade Jani Boutellier)

Sentenced - Story: A Recollection (Century Media) 1997

"Noose" (4:03)

"Nepenthe"
(3:55)

"Sun Won't Shine"
(4:18)

"Dance on the Graves"
(4:27)

"The Way I Wanna
Go" (4:14)

"White Wedding"
(3:27)

"My Sky is Darker
Than Thine" (5:47)

"The Trooper"
(3:19)

"New Age Messiah"
(4:31)

"Desert by Night"
(6:32)

"No Tomorrow"
(4:38)

"The Truth"
(6:25)

"Awaiting the Winter
Frost" (5:50)

"Crumbling Down
(Give Up Hope)" (5:27)

"In Memoriam"
(5:25)

After picking up Sentenced
"Frozen" and thoroughly enjoying it, I found a used copy of this cd.
What better way to check out more of the band's material than this compilation
cd. The music ranges in style from the bands primitive death metal beginnings
to their more recent doom/heavy metal sound, which I actually prefer. There
are two cover songs on this disc, both of which were originally released on
an EP that went out of print long ago. (The other 3 songs from that EP are also
included here - "Desert by Night", "In Memoriam", "Awaiting
the Winter Frost"). The cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding"
is quite good. The Iron Maiden cover,
on the other hand, is not spectacular, mostly because the vocalist doesn't have
the range and charisma of Bruce Dickinson.
However, what I really got out of this disc is that I have to find and purchase
"Down".

Many years
ago I borrowed a Century Media compilation and discovered three great bands.
One of those bands was Sentenced. Unfortunately, the other two were Iced
Earth and Nevermore, who both
became some of my all time favorite bands. Because of that I sort of forgot
about Sentenced until I stumbled across thie copy of "Frozen" for
a mere $5.99, still sealed. So I snagged it up immediately. "Frozen"
is a phenomenal, melodic, atmospheric heavy metal platter. The closest comparison
that I can come up with is perhaps Paradise
Lost's "Draconian Times". It's not even that the two bands sound
the same, but that there is a certain quality to the music that kept me pushing
the play button over and over again. Grand metal grooves just cover this album
from the opening track through the end. Imagine a mix of Paradise
Lost, Iron Maiden and Metallica.
That is about the best I can come up with. Can't wait to get some more of ths
band's discs. They are destined to become another favorite.

It's hard to believe listening
to "Crimson" that Sentenced began life as a death metal band. I know many metalheads
that hate these later day Sentenced albums, but I find them to be absolutely
spellbinding. OK, they are no longer ultra-heavy death metal, but there is no
denying that these guys are good songwriters and excellent musicians. "Crimson"
is a bit dark, relatively slow, dark and melodic, but it's also retains an aggressive
edge. At times I would even describe the music as somber, eerie, haunting and
even melancholy at times. I know these are not adjectives usually ascribed to
a metal band, but there is no better way to describe the music on "Crimson".
Lyrically the band expresses a range of emotion, most of which is centered around
darker themes of sadness and despair. I suppose the lyrics fit the somber mood
of the music. Personally I found this album to be very enjoyable. Those who
have their criteria for what any band should sound like will probably be disappointed,
and to some extent I can understand that. When you like a band's sound and they
change drastically from that sound, it's hard to appreciate the new sound. However,
with Sentenced, I actually apppreciate their more melodic side moreso than their
angry, aggressive side.

The Funeral Album is the final album from Finnish heavy metal band Sentenced. Starting off as a death metal band and morphing into different dark forms of heavy metal, on this swan song there are very few traces of those early metal years on this album. This is a far sleeker, more commercial hard rock style. For the most part I found this album to be unmemorable even after listening several times. Unfortunately, the most immediately interesting moments on the album occur in a couple of short instrumental tracks: the death/thrash metal flashback of "Where Waters Fall Frozen" and the sombre acoustic track "Karu". The latter precedes the band's farewell song, "End of the Road" and acts as an introduction into that song. The music ranges from driving hard rock on songs such as "Ever-Frost," "Vengeance Is Mine," and "Drain Me" to slightly more metallic tracks such as "May Today Become the Day," "Despair-Ridden Hearts," and "A Long Way to Nowhere". There is even an odd power ballad in the though-provoking "We Are But Falling Leaves." It's not that "The Funeral Album" is a bad album, but it just didn't grab my attention and pull me in.